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For eight years The Beagle has been my most loyal companion. He follows me wherever I go, greets me every morning as though I'm an old friend he hasn't seen in years, and never, ever misses an opportunity to cuddle. Lately I've sensed that Buddy Boy, as well as Moppy Mop, are increasingly anxious and needy...as if my growing belly is a sign that an era, one of them ruling the roost, is coming to an end. I feel for them and hope I can make this transition as smooth as possible on the whole Cabrera family.
Any advice is appreciated. Also, any tips for keeping a very alert Jack Russell quiet during nap time?!?
When your baby is born, have someone bring home a cloth diaper that was next to the baby, so it can have the scent on it. That's what we did when we had our child. My hubby brought home one that laid underneath my baby's head for a while, and then he let the dog smell it. I think he did one for every day I was in. Then when we did bring the baby home, we crated the dog, put the baby in the playpen/crib, then let the dog out so it could investigate safely the baby. We had at that time a bullmastiff. So we really had to be careful! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't have any advice seeing that our only babies are of the 4-legged variety. I just wanted to say that we have 2 beagle terrier mixes & that 1 of them looks like a beagle, which has become my favorite breed of pup.
ReplyDeleteDernièrement lorsque ma fille Fauve a accouché son mari ramenait de la maternité les vêtements souillés du bébé et les faisait renifler à leur Labrador.
ReplyDeleteAu retour de la maternité, ils n'interdisaient pas à leur chien le coup de langue au bébé...
Surtout n'oubliez pas qu'il est là... au même titre que vos bébés...
Bisous bisous
Ditto what NoviceArtist said (and I think martinealison said a similar thing...my francais is pretty bad) - excellent advice on crating the dog(s) at first too since even the most trusted pet can go a little nutsoid around a newborn.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how to help with naptime...sorry...
My parents got a Doberman right before I was born (and they had two other children under the age of four). They were crazy! They say that she was very sweet with me though. Dogs are smart. They will catch on that they need to be gentle with the boys... I hope! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteKate
I agree with the crating suggestion. It will give the dog a safe place to be away from babies (which will become more important as time goes on) but also keep them quiet. When we need our dog to be crated and quiet (which he's quite used to) we give him a treat - rawhide, a kong toy stuffed with peanut butter, or a bone. Sometimes I'll also pick that time to run the dishwasher (his crate is in the kitchen) or sometimes put him in our bedroom with a fan running... the white noise helps dogs as much as it helps babies. Also, if you play with him a little bit to tire him out before he needs to be quiet, that helps, too. Our dog is a Pomeranian so he's hard to keep quiet and hard to tire out :) But those tricks work quite well for us. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'd agree with crating and bringing home something with the scent on it. I'd also suggest having our husband bring the baby in and you greet the dogs first, especially if they're attached to you.
ReplyDeleteAs for noise, I tried a different approach. We had a very small bungalow when the Punks were babies, so we didn't even try to be quiet. They got used to sleeping through the noise.
No advice. Just wanted to say, great drawing.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate all these tips! Thank you. Edgar and I are definitely taking notes.
ReplyDeleteYou will be surprised how your pets adjust. Not to say you shouldn't try some tricks from your bag. I remember when we brought our daughter home and I was afraid of that old tale about cats wanting to get in baby's faces as they slept. So we had one weapon.."the snake creature" - one of those old hairdryers that had the cap you wore attached by a hose to a little drying machine...the cat was deathly afraid of it, so we strung the hose out between the door frame...kept kitty out for awhile..then one day I saw the cat sneaking up on the 'snake creature', I made a hissing sound from behind and scared her up and over that hose and into the nursery...didn't seem to work so well after that.
ReplyDeleteHaha Pattie---You paint quite the picture! I can see your cat now!
ReplyDelete